25. Hotel Night In
TWENTY-FIVE
HOTEL NIGHT IN
M arcus
The suite is nice, but the view is stunning—massive floor to ceiling windows line the living room overlooking the city of Boston. A modern-looking chandelier hangs above the couch in the living room, but we haven’t needed to turn it on yet, as the setting sun casts a warm, cozy light over the entire space. After days cooped up on the bus, this feels like a breath of fresh air, and we are all ready to enjoy the rare comfort.
“So, what’s the plan?” Dylan asks after Lily leaves to change, sprawling across a couch like he owns the place. His short brown hair is still damp from his shower, and for the first time in days, he looks truly relaxed.
“I say we watch a movie,” I suggest, grabbing the remote. “Something cheesy and fun.”
“Or we could play a game,” Enzo counters, mischief twinkling in his green eyes. He’s lounging next to Dylan, looking just as comfortable. His dark hair is damp, and he’s wearing a pair of loose shorts, his tattoos on full display.
“Games are for kids,” Jax grumbles, his dark eyes narrowing slightly. He’s been in a sour mood all day, and the luxury of the hotel doesn’t seem to be helping. The only thing that actually seems to change his attitude these days, is Lily. Jax leans against the arm of the sofa, his tattoos peek out from beneath his sleeves. “Let’s just watch something.”
Dylan snorts. “Why do you always have to be such an asshole, Jax?”
Jax shrugs, ignoring the jab. The tension in the room thickens, but before it can escalate, Lily returns.
“How about we order some room service?” she suggests, her voice light and calm. She’s dressed in comfy clothes, her blonde hair still a little damp from the spa. The relaxation she radiates seems to diffuse the tension. She really is becoming the center of our group, regardless of whether she realizes it or not.
Everyone agrees, and we huddle around the room service menu, playfully arguing over what to order.
“Burgers,” Dylan declares, eyes glued to the menu. “And fries. Lots of fries.”
“Club sandwiches,” I add. “Non-negotiable.”
“Wings, definitely wings,” Jax chimes in, grinning.
Enzo rolls his eyes but says, “Steak. I want steak.”
“And maybe some salads?” Lily suggests with a smile. “And desserts?”
Dylan nods. “We should just get everything.”
Lily laughs, but I’m pretty sure he’s being serious.
Jax grabs the phone and places the order, trying to keep up as we all shout our additions. “Yeah, we’ll take five burgers, three club sandwiches, four orders of fries, wings, a steak… oh, and a couple of Caesar salads. What do you have for dessert? Great, we’ll take two of each.”
I can’t resist. “Don’t forget the champagne,” I call out, winking at Lily.
“Add nachos,” Enzo adds, smirking. “And mozzarella sticks. Oh, and if they have a charcuterie board, throw that in too.”
Lily’s eyes widen as she looks at us and this time Dylan laughs. “I said everything,” he mouths.
Jax hangs up the phone, looking amused. “They said it’ll be up in thirty minutes. But I think we scared them with how much we ordered.”
“Good,” Enzo mutters with a smirk. “Maybe it’ll come faster.”
Dylan rolls his eyes. “I don’t think it will work that way.”
“It will. They won’t want us to add more to the order, so they’ll rush it,” Enzo retorts.
“I hope not. I want it to be edible,” Jax chimes in.
Lily gets up to leave and I smack Enzo across the chest, indicating her leaving was his fault. He looks sufficiently chastised and gets up from the couch, following her.
They both return a few minutes later, wearing white hotel robes with the hotel logo across the breast. Enzo looks smug, likely because he just got to see Lily naked or mostly naked, anyway. I ignore the slight flare of jealousy as Lily holds up a few more robes in her hands, asking, “Hotel robes, anyone?”
Dylan grabs a robe without hesitation, pulling his clothes off right in the middle of the room to change, and I follow suit. I keep an eye on Lily, noticing her watching us even as she pretends not to. Jax reluctantly puts a robe on too, muttering under his breath about how ridiculous we look. But within seconds, we’re all in robes, lounging across the couches again like royalty.
“Anyone brave enough for a face mask?” Lily teases, holding up some she bought at the spa, her blue eyes sparkling.
Dylan raises his hand instantly, grinning. “Hell yeah. I could use some pampering.”
“I’m in,” I say, taking a mask from her. “Might as well enjoy this while we can.”
Jax, after a moment of hesitation, grabs a mask, too. His competitive streak won’t let him back down. Even Enzo grabs one with a huff, though he warns, “This better not end up on social media.”
“I would never photograph this and save it forever,” Lily gasps, pretending to be offended, even as she inches her phone out of her robe pocket.
Enzo snatches it away, placing it in his robe pocket. “I’ll take that, thank you.”
Lily scowls but doesn’t dig into his pocket to retrieve it. Enzo looks more disappointed by that, than the thought of a photo of us in our face masks ending up on social media.
A few minutes later, my face starts to tighten as the mask on my skin hardens. “Is this supposed to feel so strange?”
“It’s a clay mask. Once it’s hard, we wash it off,” Lily replies.
“That isn’t what I usually do when something gets hard,” Jax says.
“We all know what you do then,” I say, and he surprises me by laughing.
“This isn’t half bad,” Enzo admits, his face mask softening his usual scowl.
“Love these things,” Dylan says, his mask making him look ridiculous as he grins with cracking clay falling off his cheeks. “Sometimes it’s good to relax.”
Lily laughs, her eyes shining with happiness. “I’m glad you’re all enjoying this. It’s nice to unwind together.”
Once they fully harden, Lily tells us it’s time to rinse off the masks. We crowd into the same bathroom and somehow convince Lily that we need her to wash them off us. Lily laughs, making us sit on the toilet one by one while she uses a warm washcloth to remove the clay from each of us. We return to the living room just in time to hear a knock on the door.
“Room service, perfect timing,” Dylan states as he moves to the door.
“I’m starving,” I agree.
We devour the food—juicy burgers, crispy fries, salads, and desserts. The camaraderie feels stronger, the tension from earlier gone. The jokes flow freely, the stories from past tours coming out.
“Remember that time in Tokyo?” I ask, leaning back contentedly. “At that sushi place.”
Dylan laughs. “Yeah, and how Enzo tried to impress the chef with his terrible Japanese?”
“I was close!” Enzo protests, though a grin creeps onto his face.
“You ordered us one-hundred uncooked Octopus,” Jax interjects.
Lily shakes her head, laughing. “Oh my god. How?”
Jax catches my eye across the room, and for a moment, the connection between us feels like it did in the early days of the band. I nod and he nods back. Things are good. Lily makes things good.
As the meal winds down, Lily picks a cheesy romantic comedy to watch. We settle into the plush sofas, the soft glow of the TV casting a warm light over the room. The film is absurd, but it’s exactly what we need—light and funny, no pressure.
“This is perfect,” Lily says softly, her voice content. “I’m glad we did this.”
“Me too,” Jax agrees, his tone uncharacteristically soft. “It’s good to just be together, no stress.”
Even Enzo seems more at ease now, laughing at the ridiculous jokes on-screen. As the movie plays, I glance around the room. The bond between us feels stronger than ever. For the first time in a long while, there’s no pressure, no worries about the tour or the future. Just us, together.
When the credits roll, we sit in comfortable silence. The room feels peaceful, the night exactly what we all needed.
“Thanks for suggesting this, Lily,” I say sincerely. “We needed it.”
She smiles, her eyes warm. “I’m just glad we could all relax and have some fun.”